Iran says more time needed for nuclear deal

TEHRAN, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- More time is needed to work out the details of a final nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers, Iran Daily quoted Iranian foreign minister as saying on Saturday.

"If a general agreement is reached on different issues in the nuclear talks, we will still need more time to negotiate the details," Zarif said Friday, adding that "Therefore, it is unlikely that we will come to a final deal before the four-month deadline."

In July, Iran and the P5+1 group, including the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia plus Germany, agreed to extend negotiations over the former's disputed nuclear program for another four months till Nov. 24 as all sides could not narrow down the significant gaps on core issues during the past six months.

The interim deal, which took effect on Jan. 20, was designed to buy time for negotiations. Under the deal, Iran would suspend some sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for a limited sanction relief.

In recent months, the talks for a final deal stalled as the talking parties were still far apart on some core issues, such as Iran's future enrichment capacity.

Despite the six countries' more "cautious" approach to the talks, Iran and the P5+1 group have made overall progress in the nuclear negotiations over the past seven months, Zarif said.

"From the very beginning, we have contended that if there is a strong willpower from the West, nuclear negotiations can bear fruit very soon," he added.

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) Yukiya Amano is expected to arrive in the capital Tehran on Sunday for talks on continuing the cooperation between the two sides.

Amano will meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday to " hear Iran's expectations at the top level," Iran's representative to the IAEA Reza Najafi told state-owned IRNA news agency, adding that the talks aim at continuing the cooperation between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog within the earlier "cooperation framework. "

The IAEA chief's visit comes ahead of the agency's Aug. 25 deadline for Iran to provide a new set of information on its nuclear program, Press TV said.